The beautiful city of Zurich played host to the BIO-STREAMS 3rd Consortium Meeting from April 29-30. Held over two productive days, the event brought together consortium members from around Europe, all united by a common goal: to tackle the global challenge of childhood obesity through innovative data-driven solutions.

The first part of the meeting was dedicated to providing comprehensive status updates and discussing the workflow within the project. Each partner had the opportunity to present their progress, highlighting milestones achieved and challenges encountered. These discussions allowed a clear understanding of the project’s overall status and enabling effective coordination.  

The second part of the meeting was dedicated to exploring co-creative approaches with an interactive workshop focused on dissemination activities. All consortium members engaged in discussions and interactive sessions to gather diverse perspectives and insights on communicating prevention and healthy living recommendations determined by the BIO-STREAMS project, following a family-centric approach and considering micro-moments as determinants driving behaviour and adherence.

The meeting also highlighted the importance of societal and business objectives. A key initiative is the establishment of a multidisciplinary network to accelerate knowledge transfer, guideline dissemination, and policy integration. This network aims to enhance health literacy and bring citizens closer to healthcare professionals, fostering a collaborative approach to tackling obesity.

Additionally, the consortium is focused on demonstrating the applicability, cost-effectiveness, and added value of the BIO-STREAMS initiative. By showcasing its benefits, the consortium aims to build a strong market entry strategy, ensuring the long-term sustainability and impact of their efforts.

The BIO-STREAMS project kicked off in May 2023 and is a five-year Horizon Europe Research & Innovation project. With the cooperation of twenty-nine European partners/beneficiaries, coming from a diverse set of companies, organisations, and esteemed universities, the project will deliver a dedicated underage obesity biobank providing real-world health data (including biospecimens, anthropometrics, behavioural and cost data) from retrospective and prospective sources, while taking into account efficient data harmonisation and standardisation principles, transforming data valorization towards underage obesity prevention and future research. The BIO-STREAMS project will have a 48-month duration with a designated completion date 30th of April 2027.

Read more: BIO-STREAMS was kicked off!

Stay tuned for more updates on the exciting developments from the BIO-STREAMS Consortium as we continue to work together toward a healthier future for children around the world.